Pepe Aguilar, President and CCO of Wing NY

Pepe Aguilar of Wing: Why Immigrant Songs so deeply affects immigrants’ lives

20 de junio de 2019

The President and CCO of Wing NY, Pepe Aguilar, said the agency is extremely proud of t its Inmigrant Songs creation for the Southern Poverty Law Center because of the four radio Lions it won at the Cannes Lions Festival, but even more so because of how deeply it affects immigrants’ lives.

Immigrant Songs is a very important initiative because it aims at preventing the human rights’ abuse of legal immigrants in the U.S. It’s a difficult moment in terms of migration worldwide, but most of all in this country" Aguilar said. He particularly noted the situation on the border where access to justice is not easy. "There are many communities on the border that live isolated from what is going on elsewhere - they have limited access to information and very little understanding of their rights, which makes them easy prey for abuse."

Aguilar stressed the importance of the corrido, a music genre that is very popular across the border from the U.S., as a way to tell stories about the struggle against oppression and injustice. Experts in immigration law and musicians working together are making a very helpful contribution, he added, because "they help people learn how to react to a run-in with the authorities, as well as what they can and can’t do, and how to proceed if their rights are violated."

Immigrant Songs is a platform that will continue adding artists in time, informed by lawyers of the Southern Poverty Law Center. “Our aim is to contribute to the well-being of the Hispanic community with what we do best, which is creating ideas that become part of the culture" Aguilar said.